Lebensraum

[himoses]

This is my first time posting but I have been into Civ since Civ 1.

Four years after the Great Western War, a great and mysterious people arose from the ashes of the Western continent.

A long and futile war was waged amongst the ancient races of the Western continent. The English, French, and Germans strove to extend their bloodlines through the destruction of each other’s races. Without warning, after centuries of peace the English invaded with their great hordes of horsemen and warriors only to be turned back by the wall of the citadel of Heidelburg. The English, looking for a victory to restore their confidence of a shaken people, planned to blatantly attack the French in a brilliantly crafted flanking move across the relatively unoccupied continent to strike what would seem a damning blow to the surprised French.

However, the Germans, angered by the unprovoked and unexpected attacks of the empire of England rammed their full military force to the quiet town of Coventry. Coventry, a home of knowledge, learning, and good breeding was a beacon of enlightenment to the English and the world. Long lost knowledge was beheld to the English, giving their culture an advantage over all in the world, thus giving the English a haughty sense of superiority. The English proudly bore their title of the wealthiest nation on Earth, enjoying a golden age as their culture expanded exponentially.

Coventry was a city of the highest learning and growth. Coventry was the center and pride of the English. Coventry’s grace echoes on the winds of history.

Across the Great Plains and over the Trident Mountains a runner brought news of the home front. Good old John Smith from London was a hearty man who was raised in the greatest country on Earth. As a boy, he was given good education and was taught to respect of the gods and her majesty the Queen. Given a chance to serve his country, he jumped at the task. Since he was under the age of 16, he could not serve in her majesty’s army, but good old John earned a commission in the army as a runner at the tender age of 15. He thrived at crossing the vast wilderness of the Great Plains. John also triumphed that he, and not the other older runners would hold the good news he would deliver to the English commanders. However, something bothered him. At night, he swore he heard a strange noise.

Master Cromwell was the commanding noble of the runners. John came to him with a concern about a noise he was hearing at night. Master Cromwell, a firm and haughty man scoffed at the premonitions of the foolish boy. “Probably ghosts or some wild horses, boy,” Cromwell chided in his nasally voice.

“But, but, but Master Cromwell…” John Smith paused as to not dishonor his Master, “I swear I heard some chinking of metal like a blacksmith striking the forge.”

“Ridiculous, boy, now get some sleep. You have the honor of delivering the good news to the commanders. These great men have been away for years crossing this desert to surprise the French and win a glorious victory for her majesty. They will really want to know what is happening on the home front.”

John Smith arrived just as the English army of 6,000 approached the French stronghold of Orleans. The English gathered their horsemen and warriors 100 miles from the city in preparation to attack in stealth. That night the English camped and prepared to attack the next day. Soon, the good people of England would wear beautiful French ivory jewelry and wear fine French clothing. The second largest city on Earth was to become the property of the English. It was only guarded by an attachment of 1,000 French warriors.

As a hardy wilderness people, the French knew right away that something was amiss. An army could not mass on their soil without anyone realizing. Empress Joan D’Arc would lead a surprise attack personally for the glory of France with France’s best warriors. No foreigner would take the holy city of Orleans with Empress D’Arc on watch.

The English army worked to surprise the French by flanking to the northwest while the French army, smaller in number at 5,000 tried to divide the English flankers from behind and destroy by dividing and conquering. However, something unexpected happened.

An envoy of mysterious riders came flying an unknown flag. Master Cromwell immediately realized that it was the despised Germans. The same Germans who had turned down the English advance on the citadel of Heidelburg inflicting very heavy casualties. Had the English not attacked with horsemen and retreated, the pride of the English veteran army might lay in waste. How had these riders arrived so quickly? The Great Plains were huge and it took the English nearly 10 years to cross. Were these the mysterious riders of young John Smith’s dreams or was this some military ploy of the Germans? Master Cromwell did not want to see the evil Germans plans, whatever they may be, come to fruition. He would lead a charge with half his force to destroy the Germans and half to take the city of Orleans. Cromwell was given command of the English forces, as he was the highest born.

The French, confused by the English tactics and thinking it an English trick decided to attack. However, the French, too, ran into these mysterious horsemen. The horsemen sent an emissary to the French. The French, thinking that the German diplomat was another attempt to attack Orleans moved with swift ferocity to destroy the diplomat. The English, seeing the French attack, attacked the horsemen to get at the French. However, these horsemen were no ordinary horsemen.

Upon attacking, the French and English realized that their power, even if combined were no match for these horsemen. This awesome weapon that the Germans had soon struck out like a rattlesnake and took the lives of the soldiers attacking with swift and meaningful vengeance. After seeing Master Cromwell put to the sword, John Smith tried to lead his runners away back to England, but the horsemen were too swift. As the metal clad man dismounted his horse and yelled some unintelligible words in a foreign tongue, John Smith cowered as he held two pieces of parchment in his hand. John started to cry as he quickly read the parchment and attempted to swallow it.

“Halt das maul,” the soldier screamed as he rammed his sword through the John’s neck, grabbing the already blood stained paper and throwing it to the ground. One paper said, “Coventry has fallen to the infidel German horde.” The other stated, “The German riders approach. Please save us and may God save the Queen, the German horde advances on London.”

By the time the Russians made contact with the Western Continent, the last English and French city fell to the Germans 30 years later. The once proud English civilization was forced to move with the French into the vast unsettled swamp on the Russian continent. The Russians, paid off by the Germans killed off the last of the race the English and the French who now only live on in story and legend. The Germans destroyed 10 whole cities and murdered hundreds of thousands of people, taking few slaves. Eventually, all natives were put to the sword and their culture and races ceased to exist 20 years later. From the race of King Bismark the great and his good general arose a new Germanic people under the civilizing guise of democracy.

Now controlling roughly half the earth and commanding sovereignty over the entire vast Western continent now densely populated with 125 cities, the Germans, the wealthiest, happiest, strongest, most influential, and scientifically advanced nation in the world reaches out for land, land to advance the hopes and dreams of the superior German people. Call it manifest destiny or Lebensraum, the Germans need space to expand their mighty culture. Arming their legions of knights with a fearsome new weapon the rifle, an army of 35,000 soldiers, settlers, and workers sail the seas on newly crafted vessels and warships to traverse the world to find Lebensraum. The year is 1510 a.d. as the great German people set out on the high seas to find the next great epoch of their civilization.

[Jumping Choya]

Very good!

[himoses]

Thanks. I need to play more to come up with some more content.

[justjake73]

Wow, you actually know some German! College? High school?

"Halts maul" is a crass way of saying "shut up" because "maul" is really the mouth of a horse or donkey

[himoses]

I only know a little German from high school. I just remembered halt das maul from my teacher yelling at us because we were goofing off in class.

[himoses]

The Russo-German War

After the brutal at the turn of the century, the world lay asleep in the gentle bosom of peace. The world in the east sank into a languid sleep as it appeared that the aggressors to the east had beaten their spears into plowshares. Peace and prosperity reigned over the whole earth.

Being sick and tired of war, the German people rose up and overthrew their tyrant, issuing in a new age of peace. With the discovery of nationalism and a new government representing the people called a republic, the German people began to come together as a people. No longer would they have to listen to brutal tyrants and give into the whims of warmongers. Consul Bismarck II took over the fledgling government adding legitimacy to the new government. Consul Bismarck II was related to the ancient ruling family of the autocratic Bismarck’s who were known for their ruthlessness. However, Bismarck II held a more moderate and forward ideas about government and war.

Consul Bismarck II set out on an ambitious construction projects, which he hoped would make the German people happy and make Germany the envy of the world. Out of his own personal treasury, Bismarck earmarked 45,000 marks toward the construction of aqueducts, cathedrals, granaries, banks, and marketplaces. In each of the largest cities, great works were commissioned by the various guilds to beautify the German empire.

On the outskirts of the empire, tens of thousands of settlers took their new found wealth and began excursions to become wealthier. Many new thriving cities became established. One particular city, Luft, was founded on hills possessing the greatest cache of jewels ever known to man. The women of the empire were so happy that they celebrated a new fertility festival throughout the empire that lasted a whole decade. Daily, fireworks shot off across the skies as the people celebrated. The celebration would soon come to an end, however.

In the year of our Lord 1510, a large contingent of the empires finest troops, settlers, and workers set off to find new lands. King Bismarck, that ancient family of tyrants who all took the same names, had foreseen the need for Germany to acquire more lands to house the exponential growth of its people. During his time, no city was able to grow larger than 1.2 million people, so excess populations were sent off to found new cities for which to expand. The German empire, now at 130 million strong had run out of room to house its growing population, so the people grew wary.

The mass celebrations stopped in 1520 as the people no longer were happy that new growth was not happening. The merchant guilds the Arbeiter’s League and the Southern France Company were no longer returning profits and started lobbying the Bundestag for government aid in expansion. Lead by Hans Gruder and Gustav Adolphus, the guilds sent out a detachment of their own settlers looking for new commodities to bring to their trading stations across the empire.

Now that you have a little of what has happened during my reign, I wonder if you can help me with my problem. Just the other day I received a communiqué from Captain Frederick that was rather disturbing. The communiqué itself was not very alarming, but the fact that captain Frederick is still alive. Since I was a boy, I heard stories of how our men disappeared on the high seas when they went looking for land. Here is how one of the stories went.

In 1510, King Bismarck, lord of half the world sent his men on a voyage to find new land. Under the brave Captain Frederick, Germany’s finest crack troops, armed with the new mass death device (now called a rifle) were ordered to go build some cities and a base on a remote continent. Frederick was a powerful playboy, equally renowned for his military genius and his womanizing. Germany had never been to sea because it neither had the need nor the want to go to sea. There had been ancient tales of sea monsters that no one dare talk about in front of the king, but all believed. It was Frederick, the man who single handedly beat back the English at Heidelburg and destroyed Coventry, the man who marched on the bodies of the English queen and her court at London, and strung up the bodies of the French on pikes as he entered Paris. Frederick was a brave man and a pure German through and through. He would rather execute an entire city of foreigners than risk polluting German blood, and so he was know for. Frederick looked at the newly crafted vessels and scoffed, “If it be for the glory of mein Deutschland, then it is for me, no matter what the sacrifice!”

The men cheered and boarded the ships at King Bismarck’s command. Legend has it that a great serpent struck at the heart of the ships, destroying our great army and our hopes for greater expansion. Frederick, hero to the German people died trying to save his men. The hope of the German people sank and with the boats, the old ways of the West….

That is how it is recorded in legend, yet, look at this letter I just received.

Gutentag mein Fuhrer,

Ich leben! (I live!)

Er wird es noch bereuen gerade genug um zu leben.
(He will live to rue it just enough to live)

Verdamnt Baers! (Damned Bears!)
Frederick, ILMG

At first I thought it was a joke or maybe some relic, but according to my military consul, it is ended with a military code “ILMG” or I love my God. He uses the sacred language, too. We now use the English language as it is easier to use. German is only used in religion, war, and politics. The changeover was recent, but it is strictly adhered to by the German people. German people hold to an ancient belief of stealing an aspect of culture from our victims to keep their dead from rising against us. That is one reason why we still eat crepes to this very day in honor of the French.

I guess I feel somewhat out of the loop. I really need to take a nap.

Six hours later….

Gunshots and yelling.

The yelling started growing louder and louder. People started chanting. I awoke startled as my French servant shook me awake. Consul, I believe you may want to convene with your military consul.

I quickly got dressed and ran out to see why the people were so angry.

“WE WANT WAR!” the crowd screamed. What happened to the peaceful German people who murdered the king so that I could rule in a world of peace and prosperity.

“Sir, please come with us,” my Minister of Welfare told me.

“What’s going on,” I bellowed, shaking the sleep from my eyes, “Why wasn’t I informed!”

“Hold your tongue consul. We have confirmed that Captain Frederick is alive. His ships were attacked and destroyed by barbarians and Russians. Of the fleet of 240 ships that set sail, only 110 survived. Frederick’s ship and our flag ship, the G.E. Brunhilda was sunk by barbarian raiders. Russian scum, wanting to pounce upon our misfortune attacked with the full force of their navy. We lost 60 frigates and 50 galleons, sir. Frederick regrouped and built a fortress a short distance from the Russian front where he made repairs. Our navy destroyed the entire barbarian and Russian fleets and has started bombarding Russian cities. Frederick is requesting food, supplies, reinforcements, and heavy artillery…”

“So, the stories are not true. So how do the people know about this? Do we have a leak?”

“No, sir. We have been unable to restrain the printing presses from spreading news all over the empire. News agencies have been wiring the news collected from Frederick’s runners all over the empire.”

I do not know what to do. Should I ask the Bundestag and the Reichstag to declare war and make it official? Should I cover it all up? Damn Russians, after all the German people have done for them, they attack us at the jugular. Will the people want blood or forgiveness? “What do the people think Franz? Do they want peace or do they want blood?”

I had known Franz for a long time. He was a slender fellow with a quiet temper and a gaunt appearance. Franz really seemed to be agitated because he kept biting his nails, and that is what he did when he got nervous. Franz shakingly replied, “I think we should march our troops over that tramp Catherine’s bones. Destroy the Russian people utterly.”

Franz usually wasn’t so to the point so I was thrown back a little. “Franz, don’t you remember the campaign promises we ran under. Remember peace, prosperity, and paternity? Egypt and Babylon have cut diplomatic ties with us last time we went to war, and I fear that this could spark a war that makes the Great Western War pale in comparison. I am talking about a world war, Franz. A WORLD WAR? Can Germany handle another big war?

Defense Minister Joseph Kesslring smirked and rose to his feet. A large veteran, Minister Kesslring was a stern, overbearing, and confident man. Kesslring was a four star general for the German army during the end of the war with France having risen through the ranks from a private. Kesslring was also the innovator of the rifle, having modified a musket’s firing mechanism and rifling out the barrel of the gun. In a deep, baritone voice Kesslring replied, “Germany has never lost a war. We are the most advanced nation in the world. While Russia has attacked us with swords and bows, we will butcher this menace with a cold, calculating cunning that only the gun can bring. We will wipe Russia from the map. Give me the orders and I will start mobilizing immediately. We can have troops in Russian territory in 1 year and a large force in 2. The people are outside your palace screaming for blood. I say we give it to them.”

“All right then. Convene the houses. We’re going to war boys.”


The German people overwhelmingly supported the war. The Bundestag and the Reichstag both voted unanimously to enter in war with the Russians.